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Abstract:
We analyze the production process of Ph.Ds in economics in the Netherlands. Our empirical results are consistent with the incentives that the actors in this process face. Universities succeed in making students who are unlikely to graduate or will need a long time to graduate quit the program. Supervisors who are active researchers have higher graduation and lower dropout rates. This effect is due to the fact that active researchers attract better students. There is no evidence of an independent effect of having a supervisor who is an active researcher.

Duration analysis, education, graduate program

Abstract:
Sanctions or punitive benefits reductions are increasingly used as a tool to enforce compliance of unemployment insurance claimants with search requirements. This article analyses sanctions using a unique administrative data set of individuals who started collecting unemployment insurance in the Netherlands in 1992. After correction for selectivity in the imposition of sanctions, we find that sanctions substantially raise individual re-employment rates.

Abstract:
This paper finds that unemployment insurance sanctions substantially raise individual transition rates from unemployment to employment. Sanctions are punitive benefits reductions that are supposed to make recipients comply with certain minimum requirements concerning search behavior. We provide a theoretical analysis and we use a unique administrative data set of individuals who started collecting unemployment insurance in the Netherlands in 1992. We deal with various forms of selectivity involved in the imposition of a sanction. We exploit the timing of events as well as the fact that some respondents experience multiple unemployment spells.

Abstract:
We present a theoretical and empirical analysis of different types of active labor market policies (ALMP). In our empirical analysis, we use data on 20 OECD countries covering the time period 1985-1999. We find that labor market training is the most effective program to bring down unemployment. Public employment services have some impact while subsidized jobs are not effective at all. Our theory considers ALMP in the context of a search-matching model.

Unemployment, active labor market programs, training, subsidized jobs, public employment services

Abstract:
We present a theoretical and empirical analysis of different types of active labor market policies (ALMP). In our empirical analysis we use data on 20 OECD countries covering the time period 1985-1999. We find that labor market training is the most effective program to bring down unemployment. Public employment services have some impact while subsidized jobs are not effective at all. Our theory considers ALMP in the context of a search-matching model.

unemployment, active labor market programs, training, subsidized jobs, public employment services

Abstract:
The tensions between books and book markets as expressions of culture and books as products in profit-making businesses are analysed and insights from the theory of industrial organisation are given. Governments intervene in the market for books through laws concerning prices of books, grants for authors and publishers, a lower value-added tax, public libraries and education in order to stimulate the diversity of books on offer, increase the density of retail outlets and to promote reading. An overview of the different ways by which countries differ in terms of market structures and government policies is given. Particular attention is paid to retail price maintenance. Due to differences between European countries it is not a good idea to harmonise European book policies. Our analysis suggests that the book market seems quite able to invent solutions to specific problems of the book trade and that, apart from promoting reading, there is little need for government intervention.

books, publishers, authors, diversity, monopolistic competition, retail price maintenance, subsidies, libraries, internet

Abstract:
We introduce a new measure of competition: the elasticity of a firm's profits with respect to its cost level. A higher value of this profit elasticity (PE) signals more intense competition. Using firm-level data we compare PE with the most popular competition measures such as the price cost margin (PCM). We show that PE and PCM are highly correlated on average. However, PCM tends to misrepresent the development of competition over time in markets with few firms and high concentration, i.e. in markets with high policy relevance. So, just when it is needed the most PCM fails whereas PE does not. From this we conclude that PE is a more reliable measure of competition.

Competition, concentration, measures of competition, price cost margin, profit elasticity, profits

Abstract:
We introduce a new measure of competition: the elasticity of a firm's profits with respect to its cost level. A higher value of this profit elasticity (PE) signals more intense competition. Using firm-level data we compare PE with the most popular competition measures such as the price cost margin (PCM). We show that PE and PCM are highly correlated on average. However, PCM tends to misrepresent the development of competition over time in markets with few firms and high concentration, i.e. in markets with high policy relevance. So, just when it is needed the most PCM fails whereas PE does not. From this we conclude that PE is a more reliable measure of competition.

competition, profit elasticity, measures of competition, concentration, price cost margin, profits

Abstract:
This paper presents a test of the educational signaling hypothesis. If employers use education as a signal in the hiring process, they will rely more on education when less is otherwise known about applicants. We find that employers are more likely to lower educational standards when an informal, more informative recruitment channel is used. We thus reject the hypothesis that education is not used as a signal in the hiring process.

Abstract:
This paper presents a test of the educational signaling hypothesis. If employers use education as a signal in the hiring process, they will rely more on education when less is otherwise known about applicants. We find that employers are more likely to lower educational standards when an informal, more informative recruitment channel is used, so we conclude that education is used as a signal in the hiring process.

Recruitment, Signaling

Abstract:
This paper uses information from a panel of Dutch firms to investigate the labor productivity effects of performance related pay (PRP). We find that PRP increases labor productivity at the firm level with about 9% and employment with about 5%.

performance related pay, labor productivity

Abstract:
This article analyses the design of optimal unemployment insurance in a search equilibrium framework where search effort among the unemployed is not perfectly observable. We examine to what extent the optimal policy involves monitoring of search effort and benefit sanctions if observed search is deemed insufficient. We find that introducing monitoring and sanctions represents a welfare improvement for reasonable estimates of monitoring costs; this conclusion holds both relative to a system featuring indefinite payments of benefits and a system with a time limit on unemployment benefit receipt.

Abstract:
This Paper analyzes the design of optimal unemployment insurance in a search equilibrium framework where search effort among the unemployed is not perfectly observable. We examine to what extent the optimal policy involves monitoring of search effort and benefit sanctions if observed search is deemed insufficient. We find that introducing monitoring and sanctions represents a welfare improvement for reasonable estimates of monitoring costs; this conclusion holds both relative to a system featuring indefinite payments of benefits and a system with a time limit on unemployment benefit receipt. The optimal sanction rates implied by our calibrated model are much higher than the sanction rates typically observed in European labor markets.

Unemployment insurance, search, sanctions

Abstract:
This paper analyzes the design of optimal unemployment insurance in a search equilibrium framework where search effort among the unemployed is not perfectly observable. We examine to what extent the optimal policy involves monitoring of search effort and benefit sanctions if observed search is deemed insufficient. We find that introducing monitoring and sanctions represents a welfare improvement for reasonable estimates of monitoring costs; this conclusion holds both relative to a system featuring indefinite payments of benefits and a system with a time limit on unemployment benefit receipt. The optimal sanction rates implied by our calibrated model are much higher than the sanction rates typically observed in European labor markets.

Unemployment Insurance, Search, Sanctions

Abstract:
This Paper studies the wage effects of the use of alcohol and tobacco. The analysis based on a recent survey in the Netherlands shows that for males the use of tobacco has a negative wage effect of about 10% while the use of alcohol has a positive wage effect of about the same size. Smoking and drinking do not affect the wages of females.

Drinking, smoking, wages, earnings regressions

Abstract:
This paper studies the wage effects of the use of alcohol and tobacco. The analysis based on a recent survey in the Netherlands shows that for males the use of tobacco has a negative wage effect of about 10% while the use of alcohol has a positive wage effect of about the same size. The wages of females are not effected by smoking and drinking.

Drinking, Smoking, Wages, Earnings Regressions

Abstract:
Using fixed effects ordered logit estimation, we investigate the relationship between part-time work and working hours satisfaction; job satisfaction; and life satisfaction. We account for interdependence within the family using data on partnered men and women from the British Household Panel Survey. We find that men have the highest hours-of-work satisfaction if they work full-time without overtime hours but neither their job satisfaction nor their life satisfaction are affected by how many hours they work. Life satisfaction is influenced only by whether or not they have a job. For women we are confronted with a puzzle. Hours satisfaction and job satisfaction indicate that women prefer part-time jobs irrespective of whether these are small or large. In contrast, female life satisfaction is virtually unaffected by hours of work. Women without children do not care about their hours of work at all, while women with children are significantly happier if they have a job regardless of how many hours it entails.

Gender, happiness, part-time work, satisfaction, working hours

Abstract:
Using fixed effects ordered logit estimation, we investigate the relationship between part-time work and working hours satisfaction; job satisfaction; and life satisfaction. We account for interdependence within the family using data on partnered men and women from the British Household Panel Survey. We find that men have the highest hours-of-work satisfaction if they work full-time without overtime hours but neither their job satisfaction nor their life satisfaction are affected by how many hours they work. Life satisfaction is influenced only by whether or not they have a job. For women we are confronted with a puzzle. Hours satisfaction and job satisfaction indicate that women prefer part-time jobs irrespective of whether these are small or large. In contrast, female life satisfaction is virtually unaffected by hours of work. Women without children do not care about their hours of work at all, while women with children are significantly happier if they have a job regardless of how many hours it entails.

part-time work, happiness, satisfaction, working hours, gender

Abstract:
Taking into account inter-dependence within the family, we investigate the relationship between part-time work and happiness. We use panel data from the new Household, Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia Survey. Our analysis indicates that part-time women are more satisfied with working hours than full-time women. Partnered women's life satisfaction is increased if their partners work full-time. Male partners' life satisfaction is unaffected by their partners' market hours but is increased if they themselves are working full-time. This finding is consistent with the gender identity hypothesis of Akerlof and Kranton (2000).

Part-time work, happiness, gender identity

Abstract:
Taking into account inter-dependence within the family, we investigate the relationship between part-time work and happiness. We use panel data from the new Household, Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia Survey. Our analysis indicates that part-time women are more satisfied with working hours than full-time women. Partnered women's life satisfaction is increased if their partners work full-time. Male partners' life satisfaction is unaffected by their partners' market hours but is increased if they themselves are working full-time. This finding is consistent with the gender identity hypothesis of Akerlof and Kranton (2000).

part-time work, happiness, gender identity

Abstract:
The development of the unemployment rate differs substantially between OECD countries. In recent years some countries experienced a mild increase, other countries had a stable unemployment rate, while there are also "successful" countries in which the unemployment rate decreased a lot. A common feature of the successful countries is that they implemented a comprehensive set of institutional reforms. In this paper we present a theoretical and empirical framework to investigate how unemployment is affected by different labour market institutions (LMI) such as labour taxes, unemployment benefits, employment protection, union bargaining power and (de)centralisation of bargaining. We argue that complementarities between LMI can be exploited to improve labour market performance. In our empirical analysis of annual data over the period 1960-1995 of eighteen OECD countries we show that interactions between LMI are indeed important.

OECD, unemployment, institutions, complementarities, reforms

Abstract:
This paper uses an administrative dataset to analyze to what extent active labor market policies in the Slovak Republic have been beneficial for unemployed workers. The focus is on two types of temporary subsidized jobs and on training. Short-term subsidized jobs seem to be the most efficient active labor market policy. Workers that are or have been on a short-term subsidized job have a higher job finding rate than other unemployed workers have and once they find a job they have a lower job separation rate than workers that have not been on a short-term subsidized job. Long-term subsidized jobs have a negative effect on the job finding rate and no effect on the job separation rate. The positive effect of training on the job finding rate of unemployed workers may have to do with reversed causality: some workers enter a training program only after they are promised a job. Training does not seem to affect the job separation rate.

Abstract:
This paper examines the relation between individual unemployment durations and incidence on the one hand, and the time-varying macroeconomic conditions in the economy on the other. We allow for contemporaneous calendar time effects acting on the exit probabilities for all currently unemployed. Also, we allow for cohort effects on the exit probabilities by allowing the composition of the inflow into unemployment to depend on calendar time. In both cases we distinguish between business cycle effects and seasonal effects. The model is estimated with aggregate unemployment duration data, in which we allow for unobserved heterogeneity and correlated measurement errors. The results enable us to give a complete decomposition of the dynamics of unemployment over calendar time.

Abstract:
This paper presents an analysis of the failure and completion rates of graduate students in economics at three universities in The Netherlands. We find that an indicator of the research productivity of the supervisor is an important determinant of the completion and dropout rates. However, this effect seems due to the fact that supervisors with a good research record attract and select better students. There is no evidence of an independent effect of having a supervisor who is an active researcher.

Abstract:
This paper studies how changes in the two key parameters of unemployment insurance - the benefit replacement rate (RR) and the potential benefit duration (PBD) - affect the duration of unemployment. To identify such an effect we exploit a policy change introduced in 1989 by the Austrian government, which affected various unemployed workers differently: a first group experienced an increase in RR; a second group experienced an extension of PBD; a third group experienced both a higher RR and a longer PBD; and a fourth group experienced no change in the policy parameters. We find that unemployed workers react to the disincentives by an increase in unemployment duration, and our empirical results are consistent with the predictions of job search theory. We use our parameter estimates to split up the total costs to unemployment insurance funds into costs due to changes in the unemployment insurance system with unchanged behaviour and costs due to behavioural responses of unemployed workers. Our results indicate that costs due to behavioural responses are substantial.

Abstract:
This paper studies how changes in the two key parameters of unemployment insurance - the benefit replacement rate (RR) and the potential duration of benefits (PBD) - affect the duration of unemployment. In 1989, the Austrian government made unemployment insurance more generous by changing, simultaneously, the maximum duration of regular unemployment benefits and the earnings replacement ratio. We find that increasing the replacement ratio has much weaker disincentive effects than increasing the maximum duration of benefits. We use these results to split up the total costs to unemployment insurance funds into costs due to changes in the unemployment insurance system and costs due to behavioral responses of unemployed workers. Results indicate that costs due to behavioral responses are substantial.

Maximum benefit duration, replacement rate, unemployment duration, unemployment insurance, policy change

Abstract:
This paper studies how changes in the two key parameters of unemployment insurance - the benefit replacement rate (RR) and the potential duration of benefits (PBD) - affect the duration of unemployment. In 1989, the Austrian government made unemployment insurance more generous by changing, simultaneously, the maximum duration of regular unemployment benefits and the earnings replacement ratio. We find that increasing the replacement ratio has much weaker disincentive effects than increasing the maximum duration of benefits. We use these results to split up the total costs to unemployment insurance funds into costs due to changes in the unemployment insurance system and costs due to behavioral responses of unemployed workers. Results indicate that costs due to behavioral responses are substantial.

maximum benefit duration, replacement rate, unemployment duration, unemployment insurance, policy change

Abstract:
This Paper presents the results of an experimental study on unemployment benefit sanctions. The experimental set-up allows us to distinguish between the effects of benefit sanctions once they are imposed (the ex post effect) and the effects that discourage the unemployed from risking benefit sanctions (the ex ante effect). We find that both effects matter. Moreover, the ex ante effect turns out to be substantial and bigger than the ex post effect. Benefits sanctions stimulate the outflow from unemployment.

Unemployment benefits, sanctions, experiments, job search

Abstract:
This paper presents the results of an experimental study on unemployment benefit sanctions. The experimental set-up allows us to distinguish between the effect of benefit sanctions once they are imposed (the ex post effect) and the effect that unemployed want to avoid getting a benefit sanction imposed (the ex ante effect). We find that both effects matter. Moreover, the ex ante effect turns out to be substantial and bigger than the ex post effect. Benefit sanctions stimulate the outflow from unemployment.

experiments, unemployment benefits, sanctions, job search

Abstract:
Since the mid-1960s, the Netherlands has an immigration surplus, mainly because of manpower recruitment from Turkey and Morocco and because of immigration from the former Dutch colony of Surinam. Immigrant workers have a weak labour market position, which is mainly related to their educational level and language skills. Children and grandchildren of immigrants are expected to have better chances to integrate into Dutch society. Nevertheless, specific policy measures are needed to avoid social exclusion of current immigrant workers.

Abstract:
We present a theoretical explanation of the gender wage gap which turns on the interaction between men and women in households. In equilibria where men are over-represented in full-time work, we show that firms rationally choose to hire women only at strictly lower wages than men. The model developed predicts a gap even controlling for education, occupation and industry of workers and does so in a competitive labor market where there exist no inherent gender differences. We test our theory using CPS data over the period 1979-98 and find it is strongly supported by the data.

Abstract:
In this paper we simultaneously analyze transitions from unemployment to employment and to nonparticipation. We estimate a dependent competing risks model with nonparametric specifications of the destination-specific duration dependence and unobserved heterogeneity terms. We use a unique population data set of French unemployment over the period 1988-1994, stratified by gender type, duration class and exit state.

exit rate, hazard rate, unobserved heterogeneity, duration dependence, nonparticipation

Abstract:
In the past decades unemployment in the Netherlands has gone down substantially. The main suspects responsible for this decline are the growth of part-time labor, the reform of the benefit system and wage moderation. Nevertheless, in 2002 the unemployment rate in the Netherlands has increased somewhat. However, since the huge decline in unemployment was due to structural improvements in the functioning of the labor market there is not a lot of reason to worry about the recent rise in unemployment. The current structure of the labor market is a lot "healthier" than it was in the early 1980s. Therefore, the upward movement of the unemployment rate is bound to be a mild one.

Unemployment, Employment

Abstract:
This paper ranks Dutch economists using information about publications and citations. Rankings involve the aggregation of several performance dimensions. Instead of using a cardinal approach, where each dimension is weighted based on impact factors of journals for example, we use an ordinal approach which accounts for quality differences between journals and also takes citations into account. We find that this ordinal approach is more robust. Based on the ordinal ranking of publications and citations we find that Peter Wakker is the most productive economist, followed by Michel Wedel. The third place in the ranking is ex aequo for Philip-Hans Franses and Florencio Lopez de Silanes. Adding-up the individual output we find that the economists of Erasmus University Rotterdam are the most productive, followed ex aequo by Tilburg University and Free University Amsterdam.

Productivity of economists, ranking

Abstract:
Since the mid-1960's the Netherlands has had an immigration surplus, mainly because of manpower recruitment from Turkey and Morocco and immigration from the former Dutch colony of Surinam. Immigrants have a weak labor market position, which is related to their educational level and language skills. Children and grandchildren of immigrants are expected to have a better chance of integration into Dutch society. In this paper we investigate whether this is true with respect to the educational attainment of second generation immigrants from Turkey, Morocco, Surinam and the Dutch Antilles.

Immigration, Ethnic Minorities, Immigrant Workers

Abstract:
We present a theoretical explanation of the gender wage gap which turns on the interaction between men and women in households. In equilibria where men are over-represented in full-time work, we show that firms rationally choose to hire women only at strictly lower wages than men. The model developed predicts a gap even controlling for education, occupation and industry of workers and does so in a competitive labor market where there exist no inherent gender differences. We test our theory using CPS data over the period 1979-98 and find it is strongly supported by the data.

Gender discrimination, household models, wage gap

Abstract:
Swiss policy makers created a unique link between unemployment benefits and Active Labor Market Programs (ALMPs) by making benefit payments conditional on program attendance after 7 months of unemployment duration. We evaluate the effect of Active Labor Market Programs and benefit entitlement on the duration of unemployment in Switzerland. In the evaluation we allow for selectivity affecting the inflow into programs. Our results indicate that

(i) After ALMP-participation the transition rate to jobs increases for Swiss women but not for Swiss men. However, the job hazard rate is strongly reduced during participation. Taken together, this leads to the conclusion that programs prolong unemployment duration for men, but tend to shorten durations for women.

(ii) Once the unemployment spell approaches the expiration of unconditional benefit entitlement the job-hazard rate increases strongly, both for women and for men.

(iii) There are important selectivity effects for Swiss females, but not for Swiss males.

Abstract:
This Paper presents a theory and an empirical investigation on cyclical fluctuations in workplace accidents. The theory is based on the idea that reporting an accident dents the reputation of a worker and raises the probability that he is fired. Therefore a country with a high or an increasing unemployment rate has a low (reported) workplace accident rate. The empirical investigation concerns workplace accidents in OECD countries. The analysis confirms that workplace accident rates are inversely related to both the level of unemployment and the change in unemployment. Furthermore, fatal accident rates do not fluctuate over the cycle. We conclude that our empirical analysis is in line with our theory: cyclical fluctuations in workplace accidents have to do with reporting behaviour of workers and not with changes in workplace safety.

Workplace accidents, unemployment

Abstract:
This paper presents a theory and an empirical investigation on cyclical fluctuations in workplace accidents. The theory is based on the idea that reporting an accident dents the reputation of a worker and raises the probability that he is fired. Therefore a country with a high or an increasing unemployment rate has a low (reported) workplace accident rate. The empirical investigation concerns workplace accidents in OECD countries. The analysis confirms that workplace accident rates are inversely related to both the level of unemployment and the change in unemployment. Furthermore, fatal accident rated do not fluctuate over the cycle. We conclude that our empirical analysis is in line with our theory: cyclical fluctuations in workplace accidents have to do with reporting behavior of workers and not with changes in workplace safety.

Workplace Accidents, Unemployment

Abstract:
This Paper investigates the effectiveness of benefit sanctions in reducing unemployment duration. Data from the Swiss labour market allow making a distinction between the effect of a warning that a person is not complying with eligibility requirements and the effect of the actual enforcement of a benefit sanction. We find that both warning and enforcement have a positive effect on the exit rate out of unemployment. Moreover, the stricter the sanction policy the shorter the duration of unemployment. This can be taken as evidence of a strong ex-ante effect of a strict sanction policy.

Unemployment duration, benefit sanctions, monitoring

Abstract:
This paper investigates the effectiveness of benefit sanctions in reducing unemployment duration. Data from the Swiss labor market allow making a distinction between the effect of a warning that a person is not complying with eligibility requirements and the effect of the actual enforcement of a benefit sanction. We find that both warning and enforcement have a positive effect on the exit rate out of unemployment. Moreover, the stricter the sanction policy the shorter is the duration of unemployment of the non-sanctioned. This can be taken as evidence of a strong ex-ante effect of a strict sanction policy.

Unemployment Duration, Benefit Sanctions, Monitoring

Abstract:
In The Netherlands, the average exit rate out of welfare is dramatically low. Most welfare recipients have to comply with guidelines on job search effort that are imposed by the welfare agency. If they do not, then a sanction in the form of a temporarily benefit reduction can be imposed. This paper investigates the effect of such sanctions on the transition from welfare to work using a unique set of rich administrative data on welfare recipients in The Netherlands. We find that the imposition of sanctions substantially increases the individual transition rate from welfare to work. We also describe the other determinants of the transition from welfare to work.

Abstract:
In this paper, we study U.S. unemployment dynamics using grouped unemployment data from the Current Population Survey over the period 1968-1992. We estimate a model that traces variation in these unemployment data, both over time and between demographic groups, back to the underlying variation in the inflow and the outflow. In turn, we model the outflow as a transition process in which we allow the exit probabilities to depend on calendar time, duration, and demographic group. We particularly focus on the measurement and economic interpretation of the interaction of duration dependence of exit probabilities and the business cycle.

Abstract:
We model how unemployment benefit sanctions - benefit reductions that are imposed if unemployed do not comply with job search guidelines - affect unemployment. In our analysis we find that not only micro effects concerning the behavior of individual unemployed workers are relevant, but also macro-spillover effects from the additional creation of vacancies, which originates from the increased effectiveness of labor supply. We advocate that for a given loss in welfare for the unemployed benefit sanctions are more effective in reducing unemployment than an across the board reduction in the replacement rate.

Abstract:
This paper investigates how in addition to personal characteristics the neighborhood affects the individual transition rate from welfare to work. We use a unique administrative database on welfare recipients in Rotterdam, the second largest city of The Netherlands. We find that the exit rate to work of young Dutch welfare recipients is influenced by the neighborhood unemployment rate. Other neighborhood characteristics such as the average housing price are not important. From this we conclude that for young Dutch welfare recipients a high local unemployment rate has a negative spillover effect on the transition from welfare to work.

Abstract:
This paper investigates how a mandatory activation program in Denmark affects the job finding rate of unemployed workers. The activation program was introduced in an experimental setting where about half of the workers who became unemployed in the period from November 2005 to March 2006 were randomly assigned to the program while the other half was not. It appears that the activation program is very effective. The median unemployment duration of the control group is 14 weeks, while it is 11.5 weeks for the treatment group. The analysis shows that the job finding rate in the treatment group is 30% higher than in the control group. This result is mainly driven by the more intensive contacts between the unemployed and the public employment service.

unemployment insurance, unemployment duration, experiment

Abstract:
This paper investigates the disincentive effects of the potential duration of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. The disincentive effects are identified by exploiting changes in the UI system in Slovenia, which involved substantial reductions in the potential benefit duration and had characteristics of a 'natural experiment'. We find that the change had a positive effect on the exit rate out of unemployment - both to employment and to other destinations - at various durations of unemployment spells and for many categories of unemployed workers.

Unemployment insurance, potential benefit duration, job finding rates

Abstract:
This paper investigates the disincentive effects of the potential duration of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. The disincentive effects are identified by exploiting changes in the UI system in Slovenia, which involved substantial reductions in the potential benefit duration and had characteristics of a natural experiment. We find that the change had a positive effect on the exit rate out of unemployment - both to employment and to other destinations - at various durations of unemployment spells and for many categories of unemployed workers.

Unemployment insurance, potential benefit duration, job finding rates

Abstract:
This paper investigates how the potential duration of unemployment benefits affects the quality of post-unemployment jobs. It takes advantage of a natural experiment introduced by a change in Slovenia's unemployment insurance law that substantially reduced the potential benefit duration. Although this reduction strongly increased job finding rates, the quality of the post-unemployment jobs remained unaffected: the paper finds that the law change had no effect on either the type of the contract (temporary vs. permanent), the duration of the post-unemployment jobs, or the wage earned in this job.

unemployment insurance, potential benefit duration, job separation rates, post-unemployment wages

Abstract:
This paper investigates how the potential duration of unemployment benefits affects the quality of post-unemployment jobs. It takes advantage of a natural experiment introduced by a change in Slovenia's unemployment insurance law that substantially reduced the potential benefit duration. Although this reduction strongly increased job finding rates, the quality of the post-unemployment jobs remained unaffected: the paper finds that the law change had no effect on either the type of the contract (temporary vs. permanent), the duration of the post-unemployment jobs, or the wage earned in this job.

unemployment insurance, potential benefit duration, job separation rates

Abstract:
For immigrants who arrive in a country at a young age it is easier to assimilate than for teenagers. This paper investigates up to what immigration age the educational attainment of young immigrants in the Netherlands is similar to the educational attainment of second-generation immigrants, who were born in the country having at least one immigrant parent. It appears that this borderline immigration age depends on gender and country of origin.

Young immigrants, educational attainment, age at immigration

Abstract:
This paper uses a dataset collected among inhabitants of Amsterdam, to study the employment effects of the use of cannabis and cocaine. For females, no negative effects of drug use on the employment rate are found. For males, there is a negative correlation between past cannabis and cocaine use and employment. However, after correcting for the effect of unobserved personal characteristics, there is no negative effect of cannabis use or cocaine use on the employment status of males.

Drugs, employment, cannabis, cocaine

Abstract:
This paper uses information about prime age individuals living in Amsterdam, to study whether the use of alcohol, or tobacco stimulates the use of cannabis, i.e., whether alcohol or cannabis are stepping stones for cannabis. The special element of the study is that it concerns the use in an environment where not only alcohol and tobacco but also cannabis is a legal drug. It turns out that alcohol and cannabis are intertemporal substitutes, while tobacco and cannabis are intertemporal complements. Only tobacco is a stepping stone for cannabis use.

Alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, stepping stone

Abstract:
In 1998 the Slovenian UI system was drastically reformed. The reform reduced the potential duration of unemployment benefits substantially and simultaneously improved employment services offered to, and monitoring of, the recipients. We find that the reduction in potential benefit duration had a positive effect on the exit rate out of unemployment - both to employment and to other destinations - at various durations of unemployment spells and for many categories of unemployed workers. We also identify a clear spike in the exit rate out of unemployment in the month unemployment benefits expire (and a smaller spike in the month thereafter), and for males an increase of job-finding rate in the third month of unemployment, a likely consequence of a reduction of the level of benefit that occurs at that point. Interestingly, post-unemployment wages of recipients were not affected after the change of the law, suggesting that higher job-finding rates following the reduction of benefits were not produced by reduced reservation wages (higher acceptance probability) but rather more effective job-search activity.

unemployment insurance, potential benefit duration, job finding rates, postunemployment wages

Abstract:
This paper uses duration models and self-reported cannabis histories from young Australians to study the dynamics of cannabis use. We find that low cannabis prices are associated with early initiation into cannabis use. While the decision to quit does not appear to be directly influenced by price, we find that the younger an individual is when they start using cannabis the less likely they are to quit. Therefore, low cannabis prices lead to early use and because of that they lead to a low quit rate and hence a longer duration of use.

Cannabis use, cannabis prices, age of initiation

Abstract:
This paper uses duration models and self-reported cannabis histories from young Australians to study the dynamics of cannabis use. We find that low cannabis prices are associated with early initiation into cannabis use. While the decision to quit does not appear to be directly influenced by price, we find that the younger an individual is when they start using cannabis the less likely they are to quit. Therefore, low cannabis prices lead to early use and because of that they lead to a low quit rate and hence a longer duration of use.

Cannabis use, cannabis prices, age of initiation

Abstract:
This paper investigates how the potential duration of unemployment benefits affects the quality of post-unemployment jobs. It takes advantage of a natural experiment introduced by a change in Slovenia's unemployment insurance law that substantially reduced the potential benefit duration. Although this reduction strongly increased job finding rates, the quality of the post-unemployment jobs remained unaffected. The paper finds that the law change had no effect on the type of contract (temporary versus permanent), the duration of the post-unemployment job, or the wage earned in the job.

Labor Markets, Youth and Governance, Economic Theory & Research, Social Protections & Assistance, Social Risk Management

Abstract:
We present an empirical analysis of job reallocation and labor mobility using matched worker-firm data for the Netherlands to investigate how firms adjust their workforce over the cycle. Our data cover the period 1993-2002. We find that cyclical adjustments of the workforce occur mainly through fluctuations in job creation for young and prime-age workers while for old workers they occur mainly through fluctuations in job destruction. Moreover, we find that business cycle fluctuations are used to rejuvenate the workforce. Workforce reductions are most harmful for old workers; for them the flow out of employment is a one-way street.

Job creation, job destruction, accessions, separations, matched worker-firm data

Abstract:
We present an empirical analysis of job reallocation and labor mobility using matched worker-firm data for the Netherlands to investigate how firms adjust their workforce over the cycle. Our data cover the period 1993-2002. We find that cyclical adjustments of the workforce occur mainly through fluctuations in job creation for young and prime-age workers while for old workers they occur mainly through fluctuations in job destruction. Moreover, we find that business cycle fluctuations are used to rejuvenate the workforce. Workforce reductions are most harmful for old workers; for them the flow out of employment is a one-way street.

job creation, job destruction, accessions, separations, matched worker-firm data

Abstract:
Recent evaluations of the effectiveness of active labor market policies in bringing unemployed people back to work are not optimistic. After entering such a program, unemployed people tend to become locked-in to a temporary job so that they reduce their search for a regular job. This paper uses an administrative dataset on durations of individual unemployment spells to analyze temporary subsidized jobs. By exploiting the variation in the duration of these jobs, we investigate the importance of the locking-in effect.

Abstract:
Recent evaluations of active labour market policies are not very optimistic about their effectiveness to bring unemployed back to work. An important reason is that unemployed get locked-in, that is they reduce their effort to find a regular job. This paper uses an administrative data set from the Slovak Republic on durations of individual unemployment spells. The focus of the analysis is temporary subsidized jobs. By exploiting the variation in the duration of these jobs it is possible to investigate whether or not the locking-in effect is important. It turns out that it is.

Unemployment, active labour market policy, subsidized jobs, duration models

Abstract:
Recent evaluations of active labor market policies are not very optimistic about their effectiveness to bring unemployed back to work. An important reason is that unemployed get locked-in, that is they reduce their effort to find a regular job. This paper uses an administrative dataset from the Slovak Republic on durations of individual unemployment spells. The focus of the analysis is temporary subsidized jobs. By exploiting the variation in the duration of these jobs it is possible to investigate whether or not the locking-in effect is important. It turns out that it is.

Unemployment, Active Labor Market Policy, Subsidized Jobs, Duration Models

Abstract:
This paper studies worker displacement in the United States and the Netherlands. We discuss the relevant institutions, and we analyze the incidence and consequences of displacement. In the 1993-1995 period, displacement rates in the US and the Netherlands are about the same, and vary similarly with tenure and gender. Also, we find some evidence that displacement hastens retirement in both countries. Finally, we do not find much evidence for adverse wage or earnings effects of displacement in either country. In the Netherlands, however, displaced workers may be more likely to move into alternative jobs directly, but, if they fail to do so, face longer re-employment durations. This renders an isolated comparison of wage discounts less informative.

Abstract:
In a dynamic labor market worker-firm matches dissolve frequently causing workers to separate and firms to look for replacements. A separation may be initiated by the worker (a quit) or the firm (a layoff), or may result from a joint decision. A dissolution of a worker-firm match may be inefficient if it can be prevented by wage renegotiation. In this paper we study worker separations in the Dutch labor market. From an analysis of matched worker-firm data we conclude that both quits and layoffs are less likely to occur in high quality matches. We also find that workers with a high propensity to quit are offered higher wages to prevent them to quit. Similarly, workers with a high layoff probability give up some of their wage to prevent them from being laid-off. Despite these wage renegotiations some inefficiency in separations remains. However, there is a clear difference between quits and layoffs. Whereas inefficient quits are rare, inefficient layoffs occur frequently. These phenomena may be related to downward wage rigidity. While it is easy to renegotiate higher wages to prevent quits, it is much more difficult to renegotiate lower wages to prevent layoffs even if that would overall be beneficial to the workers involved.

separations, quits, layoffs, matched worker-firm dataset

Abstract:
In this paper we use individual level data from the Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey to study the relationship between initiation into cannabis use and educational attainment. Using instrumental variable estimation and bivariate duration analysis we find that those initiating into cannabis use early in life are much more likely to dropout of school compared to those who start later on. Moreover, we find that the reduction in years of schooling depends on the age at which initiation occurs, and that it is larger for females than males.

age of initiation, cannabis use, educational attainment

Abstract:
In this paper we use individual level data from the Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey to study the relationship between initiation into cannabis use and educational attainment. Using instrumental variable estimation and bivariate duration analysis we find that those initiating into cannabis use early in life are much more likely to dropout of school compared to those who start later on. Moreover, we find that the reduction in years of schooling depends on the age at which initiation occurs, and that it is larger for females than males.

cannabis use, age of initiation, educational attainment

Abstract:
In empirical studies of sequential auctions of identical objects, prices have been found to decline. We study auctions of ancient Chinese porcelain recovered from shipwrecks. In these auctions, there are very long sequences of lots of identical objects. We find that the average price decline is smaller in long sequences. It is especially large for the first pair of lots auctioned; it is also larger when the price of the previous lot was larger than (the upper bound of the range of) the pre-sale estimate of the previous lot and when the number of items in lots that follow each other increases. As a consequence, it appears that sellers may have some control over the sequence of prices and, therefore, on their revenue. Our results point to the fact that a sequence of lots, each of which contains the same number of items, generates more revenue than lots with varying number of items.

Sequential auctions, declining prices

Abstract:
December 1, 1996 Portugal introduced a new law on working hours which gradually reduced the standard workweek from 44 hours to 40 hours. We study how this mandatory working hours reduction affected employment and earnings of workers involved. We find for workers who were affected by the new law that working hours decreased, while hourly wages increased, keeping monthly earnings approximately constant. We also find that the working hours reduction did not lead to an increased job loss of workers directly affected. Finally, we find that workers who themselves were not directly affected were influenced by the working hours reduction indirectly. If they worked in a firm with many workers working more than 40 hours before the change in law was introduced.

workweek reduction, policy reform, employment dynamics, earnings

Abstract:
December 1, 1996 Portugal introduced a new law on working hours which gradually reduced the standard workweek from 44 hours to 40 hours. We study how this mandatory working hours reduction affected employment and earnings of workers involved. We find for workers who were affected by the new law that working hours decreased, while hourly wages increased, keeping monthly earnings approximately constant. We also find that the working hours reduction did not lead to an increased job loss of workers directly affected. Finally, we find that workers who themselves were not directly affected were influenced by the working hours reduction indirectly. If they worked in a firm with many workers working more than 40 hours before the change in law was introduced.

Workweek reduction, policy reform, employment dynamics, earnings

Abstract:
This paper investigates the reading of fiction books by 15-year-olds in 18 OECD countries. It appears that girls read fiction books more often than boys, whereas boys read comic books more often than girls. The intensity by which children read fiction books is influenced by parental education, family structure, and the number of books and tv's at home. Reading comic books does not affect the reading of fiction books. Parents who want their children to read fiction books frequently should have a lot of books at home and at most one television.

books, reading, PISA-data

Abstract:
This paper uses information about prime age individuals living in Amsterdam to study the patterns of use of ecstasy and cocaine. The information was collected in surveys in 1994, 1997 and 2001. The analysis shows that the use of ecstasy and cocaine is mainly influenced by calendar year, family situation, and parental cannabis use. Individuals that are more likely to use cocaine are also more likely to use ecstasy. Whether or not an individual starts using ecstasy or cocaine is highly age dependent, i.e., it usually happens between age 20 and 35. If an individual has not used at age 35, he or she is very unlikely to do so at a later age. The entrance of ecstasy in the Amsterdam drugs market in the course of the 1990s did not reduce the use of cocaine.

Ecstacy, cocaine, patterns of use

Abstract:
Swiss policy makers created a unique link between unemployment benefits and Active Labor Market Programs (ALMPs) by making benefit payments conditional on program attendance after 7 months of unemployment duration. We evaluate the effect of Active Labor Market Programs and benefit entitlement on the duration of unemployment in Switzerland. In the evaluation we allow for selectivity affecting the inflow into programs. Our results indicate that (i) After ALMP-participation the transition rate to jobs increases for Swiss women but not for Swiss men. However, the job hazard rate is strongly reduced during participation. Taken together, this leads to the conclusion that programs prolong unemployment duration for men, but tend to shorten durations for women. (ii) Once the unemployment spell approaches the expiration of unconditional benefit entitlement the job-hazard rate increases strongly, both for women and for men. (iii) There are important selectivity effects for Swiss females, but not for Swiss males.

Active labor market policy, benefit entitlement, treatment effect, bivariate duration model

Abstract:
This paper uses a dataset collected among inhabitants of Amsterdam, to study whether wages of prime age male workers are affected by the use of cannabis and cocaine. The analysis shows that cocaine use and infrequent cannabis use do not affect wages. Frequent cannabis use has a negative wage effect. The age of onset is also important. The earlier current cannabis users have started to use cannabis the larger the negative impact on their wage.

Grugs, wages, cannabis, cocaine

Abstract:
This paper is on the early labor market experiences of second-generation immigrants in the Netherlands. We find that only for employment rates there are some differences across ethnic groups. Conditional on having a job there is hardly any difference in wages and other job characteristics between second-generation immigrants and native Dutch of the same age group.

Second-generation Immigrants, Ethnic Minorities, Labor Market

Abstract:
This paper uses a data set collected among inhabitants of Amsterdam, to study whether wages of prime-age male workers are affected by cannabis use. The analysis shows that recent cannabis use has a negative effect on wages. The size of the wage effect depends on the age of onset. The earlier the start of cannabis use the larger the negative wage impact.

Abstract:
This paper discusses developments in the Netherlands concerning unemployment insurance, unemployment assistance and disability insurance. The emphasis is on how incentives for individual workers and firms affect flows of benefit recipients.

unemployment benefits, unemployment assistance, disability benefits, incentives

Abstract:
This paper uses information about prime age individuals living in Amsterdam to study the dynamics in the use of drugs, in particular alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, and ecstasy. The analysis concerns starting rates, transitions from non-use to use, as well as quit rates, transitions from use to non-use. Particular attention is given to the effect of the age of onset on quit behavior. The empirical analysis shows that for most of the drugs investigated the age of onset has a positive effect on the quit rate. The earlier individuals start using a particular drug the less likely they are to stop using that drug.

alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, ecstacy, drug use, age of onset

Abstract:
The allocation of Moluccan immigrants across towns and villages at arrival in the Netherlands and the subsequent formation of interethnic marriages resemble a natural experiment. The exogenous variation in marriage formation allows us to estimate the causal effect of interethnic marriages on the educational attainment of children from such marriages. We find that children from Moluccan fathers and native mothers have a higher educational attainment than children from ethnic homogeneous Moluccan couples or children from a Moluccan mother and a native father.

interethnic marriages, educational attainment

Abstract:
The allocation of Moluccan immigrants across towns and villages at arrival in the Netherlands and the subsequent formation of interethnic marriages resemble a natural experiment. The exogenous variation in marriage formation allows us to estimate the causal effect of interethnic marriages on the educational attainment of children from such marriages. We find that children from Moluccan fathers and native mothers have a higher educational attainment than children from ethnic homogeneous Moluccan couples or children from a Moluccan mother and a native father.

interethnic marriages, educational attainment

Abstract:
The tensions between books and book markets as expressions of culture and books as products in profit-making businesses are analyzed and insights from the theory of industrial organization are given. Governments intervene in the market for books through laws concerning prices of books, grants for authors and publishers, a lower value-added tax, public libraries and education in order to stimulate the diversity of books on offer, increase the density of retail outlets and to promote reading. An overview of the different ways by which countries differ in terms of market structures and government policies is given. Particular attention is paid to retail price maintenance. Due to differences between European countries it is not a good idea to harmonize European book policies. Our analysis suggests that the book market seems quite able to invent solutions to specific problems of the book trade and that, apart from promoting reading, there is little need for government intervention.

Books, publishers, authors, diversity, monopolistic competition, retail price maintenance, subsidies, libraries, internet

Abstract:
Employment protection is often related to costs incurred by firms when they fire a worker. The stability of the employment relationship, enhanced by employment protection, is also favourable to the productivity of the job. We analyse employment protection focusing on this trade-off between adjustment costs and productivity. We show that from a welfare point of view there is an optimal degree of employment protection.

Employment protection, human capital, hold-up, reforms, welfare

Abstract:
This paper investigates whether cannabis use leads to worse mental health. To do so, we account for common unobserved factors affecting mental health and cannabis consumption by modeling mental health jointly with the dynamics of cannabis use. Our main finding is that using cannabis increases the likelihood of mental health problems, with current use having a larger effect than past use. The estimates suggest a dose response relationship between the frequency of recent cannabis use and the probability of currently experiencing a mental health problem.

cannabis use, discrete factor models, duration models, mental health

Abstract:
This paper investigates whether cannabis use leads to worse mental health. To do so, we account for common unobserved factors affecting mental health and cannabis consumption by modeling mental health jointly with the dynamics of cannabis use. Our main finding is that using cannabis increases the likelihood of mental health problems, with current use having a larger effect than past use. The estimates suggest a dose response relationship between the frequency of recent cannabis use and the probability of currently experiencing a mental health problem.

cannabis use, mental health, duration models, discrete factor models

Abstract:
This paper is on compulsion in active labour market programs (ALMP). When an unemployed worker has to participate in a programme order to remain eligible for benefits there are two separate effects. First, there is the treatment effect, i.e. the program makes the worker more attractive for a potential employer or makes search more efficient thus helping the unemployed worker to find a job more quickly. Second, there is the compulsion effect, i.e. because the worker has to attend the program his value of being unemployed drops and he is stimulated to find a job more quickly. So, both effects induce the worker to find a job more quickly. The difference between the treatment effect and the compulsion effect concerns the quality of the postunemployment job. The treatment effect improves the quality; the compulsion effect lowers the quality of postunemployment jobs.

compulsion, active labour market policies

Abstract:
In this Paper, we simultaneously analyse transitions from unemployment to employment and to non-participation. We estimate a dependent competing risks model with non-parametric specifications of the destination-specific duration dependence and unobserved heterogeneity terms, allowing for mutual dependence of the unobserved heterogeneity terms. We use a unique population data set of French unemployment over the period 1988-94, stratified by gender type, duration class and exit state.

Abstract:
In a dynamic labor market worker-firm matches dissolve frequently causing workers to separate and firms to look for replacements. A separation may be initiated by the worker (a quit) or the firm (a layoff), or may result from a joint decision. A dissolution of a worker-firm match may be inefficient if it can be prevented by wage renegotiation. In this paper we study worker separations in the Dutch labor market. From an analysis of matched worker-firm data we conclude that both quits and layoffs are less likely to occur in high quality matches. We also find that workers with a high propensity to quit are offered higher wages to prevent them to quit. Similarly, workers with a high layoff probability give up some of their wage to prevent them from being laid-off. Despite these wage renegotiations some inefficiency in separations remains. However, there is a clear difference between quits and layoffs. Whereas inefficient quits are rare inefficient layoffs occur frequently. These phenomena may be related to downward wage rigidity. While it is easy to renegotiate higher wages to prevent quits it is much more difficult to renegotiate lower wages to prevent layoffs even if that would overall be beneficial to the workers involved.

Separations, quits, layoffs, matched worker-firm dataset

Abstract:
This Paper is on the early labour market experiences of second-generation immigrants in the Netherlands. We find that for employment rates only are there differences across ethnic groups. Conditional on having a job, there is hardly any difference in wages and other job characteristics between second-generation immigrants and native Dutch of the same age group.

Second-generation immigrants, ethnic minorities, labour market

Abstract:
This Paper presents a test of the educational signalling hypothesis. If employers use education as a signal in the hiring process, they will rely more on education when less is otherwise known about applicants. We find that employers are more likely to lower educational standards when an informal, more informative recruitment channel is used, so we conclude that education is used as a signal in the hiring process.

Recruitment, signalling

Abstract:
This paper uses microdata to evaluate the impact of an increase in maximum benefit duration on the steady-state unemployment rate. We draw on policy changes in Austria that extended maximum benefit duration from 30 to 52 weeks for individuals above age 50 and from 30 to 39 weeks for individuals between ages 40 and 49. We use these changes to estimate the causal impact of benefit duration on labor market flows and find that (i) the policy changes lead to an increase in the steady-state unemployment rate between 20% and 50%; (ii) surprisingly, most of the increase is due to an increase in the inflow into unemployment, whereas the decrease in the outflow from unemployment is modest; (iii) the effects are stronger for women than for men, but are otherwise rather robust across population subgroups.

maximum benefit duration, unemployment duration, unemployment inflow, equilibrium unemployment

Abstract:
December 1, 1996 a new law was implemented in Portugal to gradually reduce the standard workweek from 44 to 40 hours. We study how this mandatory reduction affected employment through job creation and job destruction. We find evidence that the working hours reduction had a positive effect on employment through a fall in job destruction.

Workweek reduction, policy reform, employment dynamics

Abstract:
This Paper uses a unique dataset collected among inhabitants of Amsterdam, to study the dynamics in the consumption of cannabis and cocaine. If people start using these drugs they are most likely to do so at age 18-20 for cannabis and age 20-25 for cocaine. An analysis of the starting rates shows some evidence of cannabis being a 'stepping stone' for cocaine. The fact that some individuals use both cannabis and cocaine has, however, to do mostly with (unobserved) personal characteristics and not with the use of cannabis causing the use of cocaine.

Drugs, consumer behaviour